Rocking Chairs

We started the day out at the Stone Mountain Inn after a good night's rest.  We slept in, actually.  When Daddy woke up, he snuck out to the balcony and found Mommy rocking in a rocking chair, doing a bit of reading out there.  Madison was still sleeping in, so he joined her out there.  The weather was cooler outside, and we both had some tea before starting the day off.  It was actually quite nice out there, quiet, overlooking the pool and Stone Mountain itself - it was a good way to start the day.  When Madison woke up, she too joined us.

We got cleaned up and said our goodbyes to Stone Mountain, and made a pretty easy drive towards home.  The weather is really overcast, and in fact tonight it is still raining.  It rained a lot today, which just goes to show you how much favor we had yesterday going to the park.  No doubt the laser show is canceled for tonight, as it would have been last night if it was raining this much.  Also, some of the other things we'd go to see might not be happening as well, so yes, it all timed out very nicely for us in the end.

Today Daddy was at work, and Mommy was here at home with Madison, also working.  They were getting together Madison's trapper keeper, which I remember vividly in school when I was around her age.   They were first released in 1978, by the way.  So that times out about right - I remember really needing to have one at that time.  Here we are a few years later, and Madison is carrying her own Trapper Keeper in to school this week.  No more book bags for her, because she's got her own locker. The idea is to keep all her classwork organized in one big Trapper Keeper.  She's good with this, and in fact her teachers have recommended it.  So today she and Mommy were doing a bit of organizing for school, and will continue tomorrow.

Later on, she was doing Minecraft levels, some that involve a story mode and flaming cows.  I'm not making this up, as much as I wish I were.  She's enjoying the story mode quite a bit, and has a long ways to go on that.

We're still reading our comics, and are at a point where we're reading Ghost Rider comics for the first time, just a few.  The X-Men visit with Ghost Rider for issues #26, 27 and 29, and we're in the midst of that, starting with a conflict down in New Orleans.  Jubilee in a Ghost Rider comic is an interesting mix of characters.  Regardless, Madison is enjoying the comics, one by one.  She enjoyed hearing another chapter from "The Hostile Hospital" tonight, as we read through this one as well.  We're moving right along with that series, and should be at "The Carnivorous Carnival" this weekend.  Daddy will put a hold on that book tonight, online.

After prayers and zerberts, we're off to bed tonight.  The rain is coming down, but we probably won't hear it much, mainly because we're all pretty tired.  We've got to start getting used to that new schedule for school.  It's only two days away...

Stone Mountain

It was a nice day today, a chance for us to "do Stone Mountain" together, something we really haven't done as a family yet.  Sure, we went to see this place at Christmas time, and that was reasonably fun. But we didn't really get a chance to see the Laser Show, which we capitalize here because this is a classic event that's been going on at Stone Mountain since 1983.  

Before we did anything, we went to the chiropractor this morning.  Daddy put on his best Hawaiian shirt, because that's what Doc Williams wears, and the three of us made some adjustments, doing our usual games in the waiting area:  "I Spy," and "Name a Star Wars Character That Starts With Every Letter of the Alphabet."  (or NASWCTSWELOTA, for short).

We got home, and it didn't take long to pack, because we're just spending on night at the Stone Mountain Inn tonight.  The drive down to Stone Mountain was short and uneventful - Madison took a nap on the way down, in fact.  

When we got there, we were early, and that was okay.  They let us in a little early to the attractions though, and that was great.  Our first stop was the historic village area they have set up, where you can walk through old houses from as early as the late 1700's.  This one below was more recent, a magnificent jewel:

This is the Davis house.  It was just gorgeous inside and out.  We took a lot of pictures of the individual rooms, but this exterior shot was nice too.  There was also a barnyard, which was a recreation of an old barnyard area from over a century ago.  

This goat is the Greatest Of All Time.  He just had a look about him that said, "Don't even think about petting me!"

But there were plenty of other goats that were very friendly, wanting to be pet, or scratched behind the ears.  In turn they would start licking your arms, and then when you weren't looking, they'd start trying to eat your clothing.  That's what Madison and her new friend above are warding off - they were having a fun time in the barnyard area.

There was a nice garden area there, of course, and an area where they grew crops as well.  We were tempted to get some more corn while there, but held off.  This dragonfly came by to visit and was pretty chill about us taking pictures.  Must be used to it.

There were plenty of old homes, from cabins to slaves' quarters to the Davis Home.  This above is an early example of a "man cave," a "study" of sorts.  Wouldn't it be great to have one of these in our house?  Madison doesn't think so.  

One of these would be nice though.  Apparently, they have weddings and receptions here, so this area is a well-kept garden area with trimmed trees, hedges and flowers.  And nearby was the local school:

Yes, Madison is ready for middle school!  We took so many pictures of this village area, and unfortunately can't post them all here - but there was so much to see here.  And because school starts this week - and it was a weekday - the place was very, very quiet.  We had it all to ourselves, basically.  We could walk into all these homes and explore, and spent time reading, or letting Madison tell us all she knew about each place:  she was just here a few months ago on that field trip, so she remembered a lot of what she saw.

Back at the Stone Mountain Inn, we rested for a bit before launching out on our evening.  We were able to check in, and as you can see from this picture, all the rooms have balconies with a couple rocking chairs on them, overlooking the pool, and yes, you can see Stone Mountain from here as well.  It's right there, big as anything, right in front of us.  That said, you could literally walk across the street, and there's the sky tram up to the top.  We chose to drive, nonetheless!

Here's Madison and Mommy on the gondola, and you can see Madison holding on tightly to the bar there because she's telling us she's a little scared of heights.  You can also see in the background the sculpture of Davis, Lee, and Jackson looking on.  Daddy hasn't done this gondola ride in forty years.  Madison has never done it at all.  

Here's an interesting angle of the Stone Mountain Sculpture.  This was taken from the gondola on the way up.  It's interesting to look at things from a new angle!

And here we are at the top of Stone Mountain.  We're looking to the north in this picture, back towards our house, which you can see if you look really, really, really carefully.  There was a bit of wind up there, and that was fine because the sun was beating down on us with a very humid day.

We walked around the summit of Stone Mountain, looking over to the north, south, east and west, exploring the rocky surface and marveling that trees could be growing up here.  These windswept marvels somehow found a place to grow roots, withstanding the elements, and doing just fine, thank you very much!

Here's another one of those trees, a perfectly place to sit in the shade up on top of the mountain.  Some were doing just that, while others explored and still others were flying kites.  That's a neat idea, isn't it?  Flying a kite on top of Stone Mountain might be on my "to do list."

But what goes up must come down, and that was us.  We boarded the gondola, and soon enough were heading back downward.  You can see the shadow of the gondola below, along with the interesting textures of this ginormous Stone Mountain.

And here's a shot of the sculpture once more, along with the reflecting pool in front.  Fun Fact:  the pool is the same exact size as the sculpted area.  We got to the bottom, and again, it's not very crowded here.  We got into our car which was right there nearby, and drove a block down to the other parking lot where the other things to do are, including a trail into something like a Jurassic Park.

Please stay behind the ropes.  Seriously.

This short walk had eighteen life-sized dinosaurs along the trail, each one somewhat animated in that it moved its head and tail back and forth, growling occasionally.  Although this stegosaurus above seems to be whispering something to Madison here.  We asked her what it was, but she said it was a secret.  No matter, we were soon running for our lives!

Yes, that's right, a T-Rex showed up, and that sort of diverted us off the beaten path a bit.  His vision is based on movement, so we were staying really still amongst the trees, and despite his roars and heavy breathing, his prey completely disappeared from his line of sight.  He stomped off in another direction, disappointed.  He probably went to the market place food center there at Stone Mountain, which has amazingly bad food at ridiculously high prices.  This alone explains why dinosaurs roar so much.  Fortunately, this guy below eats mostly leaves from the trees.

This brachiosaurus we saw walking through the woods.  He seems to be quite content here at Stone Mountain.  Now, we're not entirely sure why there were dinosaurs here - it's a curious mix of Confederate history... and prehistoric reptiles.  Although this would be an amazing genre if you think of it.  Confederate Dinosaurs!  'Pickett's Charge' might have turned out entirely differently if there were raptors involved.

"Dino droppings?"  Yes, Ian Malcolm, dinosaurs need to go too.  This would be a best-selling potty-training book, wouldn't it?  "Dinosaurs Need To Go Too."  We'll get right on that.   But for now, let's just say that Madison's not going to pull an Ellie Sadler here, and go through the Dino doo-doo.

After the walk with dinosaurs, we walked over to the 4-D movie, which of course was about dinosaurs.

Here's Mommy and Madison, chillin' before the show.  The movie was a visit to Isla Sorna, or perhaps even Isla Nublar.  There's no explanation as to why there are dinosaurs alive on this island, but two characters find themselves there, exploring - and we're along for the adventure.  It's a fun short movie, one the three of us enjoyed.  We also enjoyed the air conditioning!

Afterwards, it was time for some mini-golf.  Here's Daddy and Madison at the last part of the course. The theme of this golf course was the Great Locomotive Chase, a true event that happened during the Civil War involving a stolen train.  Very few people realize that the Union volunteers overpowered the train workers and stole their train using nothing but very small golf clubs.

After a great round of 18 holes of golf, Madison could say she was well trained.  Yes, terrible joke.  But after that, we were out to the "Laser Lawn," which is just a great name for a lawn.  

And look who we ran into here!  Our friend Chris, from KidPak!  In fact, a lot of others were there from KidPak, and we didn't even know it.  There were plans for several families to meet at Stone Mountain, and so it happened that we were there for the same night too, completely as a coincidence!  We even ran into another family on top of the mountain itself!

So here the three of us are, in front of the three of them:  Davis, Lee, and Jackson.  We had reserved terrace seating up front - way up front at the Georgia Terrace.  It was crazy close, so much so that the heat from the flames shooting upwards was pretty intense. 

But it was a great show.  Madison has not seen this before - it's been going on since 1983, and we haven't taken Madison yet.  So it was good to go and see.  Madison was quite happy at the terrace, versus sitting with others, because it was there that we all had free drinks, free ice cream, and unlimited popcorn.  Easy sell there!

But the laser show itself was nice too.  Some of these images we saw were the same ones from years ago, and there was indeed a bit of retro in this whole thing.  The "American Trilogy" by Elvis is such a great thing to see up there, where the riders on the mountain ride off the side there, and a story is told of the Civil War.  There's a version of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" that is pretty fun, and then there's a lot of other imagery put up on the stone, all with lasers of various colors.  As you can see, the fireworks were fantastic too, as were these flame throwers that launched up massive columns of fire at the right points in various songs.  It sort of reminded us of the chamber from "The Wizard of Oz," with all the fire.  Oh, and there were drones too, each one coordinated and choreographed with the music and lasers on the mountain.  It was all set to music from Star Wars, and told somewhat of a story from "The Last Jedi," or at least part of it with "The Spirit Awakens."  

After the finale, it was time for everyone to return to their cars.  We parked in such a place that it was easy to get in, and get out of the parking lot.  And the best part of all was that all we had to do was go across the street when we were done.  There wasn't a long drive home tonight, because all we had to do was go across the street to our hotel room.

It was a fun, full day, and we were all quite tired.  Mommy brought her teapot with her, and we were able to enjoy some tea tonight before bed.  But the rooms here are huge, and very nice really.  The beds were decent, and we were ready to give them a try.

Dinglehoppers

Daddy spoke this morning at KidPak, the last of our "movie messages" for this series, one based on the movie "Wonder."  It went really well this morning, with the kids really responding to everything, and quiet at all the right moments.  It's an important movie, and one with a super message for the kids, especially with school just around the corner.   Madison said I did a great job, so I'll hang my hat on that.  But there were others that agreed, and I'm usually pretty self-critical about things, but I still came away thinking it wasn't so bad.  Meanwhile, we still had our characters outside, or at least the usual costume from Camille:

Here she is as Ariel, and the the kids loved that.  There were a lot of pictures taken today with Ariel and her dinglehopper.  You do remember what a dinglehopper is, right?

Anyway, it was a great morning overall.  We had this space helmet in the prop room.  It's been there for over a decade now, and finally is getting some extra use this morning for the "Wonder" message.  This concludes the messages for "Superflix," and thus Madison is ready to turn in yet another completed booklet with stamps for each service.  Each time she does that, she gets a little reward, and she's been saving her gift cards for an iPad, and not doing too bad with her savings so far.  

We got home and got some rest, and after that we ate some of that tasty corn, and Daddy had a veggie burger, which I've been liking lately.  We had some fries too, basically a whole lot of food you can eat without having to use your dinglehopper!

Later, we also went to several planets with Battlefront, which Madison has been enjoying lately.  On Mygeeto, the two of us boarded a tank and held off fifty stormtroopers or more when our numbers of rebels were down to ... well, two.  It was just us, blasting away and using teamwork we survived the onslaught, and won.  She's having fun with that game, and of course it's getting everyone in the Star Wars frame of mind.  

We watched "Newsies" tonight, and enjoyed that too.  Although we have to say we like what they did with the play afterwards, changing around characters somewhat or making adjustments to the plot.  No matter - it was still a fun movie.  And yes, we're singing some of the songs to it now.  

Tonight we went to bed after reading, after prayers and zerberts, and after the hidden giant whoopee cushion.  This seems to be the newest thing now, ever since she got it.  It's finding its place under blankets mostly, and usually is fairly obvious.   Nevertheless, Daddy sits on it "by accident" and there are big laughs (and big raspberries!).

We've got a fun day planned tomorrow, so we'd better turn in for now.   PHTTTTT!

Open School

Well, here we are again on the precipice of another school year.  It all starts this week, today with a visit to "open house," or at least "open school."  Here above you can see Madison at her new locker, just one of the destinations we visited today at Little Mill Middle School.  After a few tries, she was able to get into her locker, but that was the general feeling of the entire hallway to begin with.  It was funny looking around and seeing all the students that hadn't gotten their lockers open yet!

The morning involved us following the class schedule Madison has, going from room to room, meeting her teachers and hearing about basic procedures like discipline, grading, online services and other things.  It's very different than elementary school, and in some ways unexpected.  For example, the pick-up process after school seems to be an every-man-for-himself sort of vibe, with no car tags or numbers.  Instead, kids go out the front door and look for a car, and everyone hopes for the best.  But other than that, we were there to find out times for clubs - we learned that art club is on Friday mornings, so that works with our schedule.  We don't know about drama club yet, but hopefully we'll find out soon.  There is a bit of stress right now about that, because we don't know if we can fit everything into her schedule.  She's getting up later, that's a plus to sleep in, right?  But at the same time, she's getting home tremendously later - as in something close to 5pm.  That causes complications, of course.  We'll just have to see what we can do with all this, and hopefully the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place.  We know she wants to do karate, drama club, art club, and of course there's piano.  Obviously, it'll be good to go to KidPak on Wednesday nights too.  We'll just have to wait and see though.

In the meantime, the teachers seem nice, and the school is a big building.  There isn't too much distance to cover for Madison with some of the nearby classrooms, and there are a few other familiar faces there, so it seems like things should be okay.  Obviously, we're parents, so we're like...

"Dear God, make them like her."  It's funny, but we'll probably be very much like all the other parents there, hoping and praying for good friends with a similar background, perhaps even a little more than good grades.  She'll be fine, of course.  She has this inner confidence that we did not.  There are great plans in store for her, plans to give her hope and a future, plans to prosper and give her peace.

We shared a shaved ice in front of the school, and talked about the walk-through.  All the teachers were nice, and Madison said she's nervous and excited at the same time.  So are we, of course.  Middle School is a big step up from Elementary School, and I can't believe we're here already.

We got home, and it was a day off today - outside of Daddy spending time studying for his message.  We went to the pool for a while, and Madison just loves splashing people in the face.  There was quite a bit of that going on, of course.

DADDY:  "Knock-knock?"
MADISON:  "Who's there?"
DADDY:  "Breaching."
MADISON:  "Breaching who?"
DADDY:  "Breaching cow!  Moooooo!" (DADDY launches upward and falls directly in front of MADISON, creating a huge splash)

We got home and ate some of that delicious Farmer's Market corn we had, and also ate some of those peaches we purchased there as well.  Mommy heated a few slices up, and served them with whipped cream.  It was really good!

Next, Daddy was reading with Madison a few comics from the collection.  We're doing them in chronological order, so today we found ourselves reading about Bishop versus Gambit, and his throwing a charged pie... and hitting Rogue.  Madison loved that.  And what a surprise to see Ghost Rider make an appearance.  We'll have to read that Ghost Rider comic next.  These crossovers were huge in the 90's.  They probably still are, but the end result is that if you wanted the whole story, you had to find that other comic book title as well.  The end result is owning all sorts of titles, from Ghost Rider to West Coast Avengers.  We'll get to that one later, as it was a little hard to find.  Ah yes, finding these comic books:  that was fun in the "old days."  Daddy remembers scouring comic book shops in faraway places, hoping to happen upon one or two comics he was looking for in particular.  That one I found in Dalton was a great find, on a trip up to Nashville.  We just read that one recently, and though there's no significance in the comic itself, the memory of acquiring it still brings a smile on my face.

Madison did a bit of drawing, and we played a Marvel video game for a bit too, but soon it was time for a movie together - we watched "Soul Surfer" finally.  This was a better movie than I remember, a very inspirational movie about Bethany Hamilton.  Madison really enjoyed it, her eyes glued to the screen for the entire movie.  We need more movies like that, don't we?  We need things that inspire us.

Which of course, is not what "A Series of Unfortunate Events" does, yet nevertheless we were reading that tonight before bedtime, along with the devotional entry of course.  Prayers and zerberts later, we were all off to bed.  Daddy is speaking tomorrow at KidPak, so we all want to get a good night's rest.  It's going to be a great day tomorrow!

Art Camp's End

The last day of art camp was upon us, and as is tradition, Madison set up things down in the studio, along with all the other kids at the camp.  There were dangling bits of artwork here and there, and proud kids showing off their accomplishments of the week.  Mommy and Daddy came together and congratulated Madison on her great works.  She enjoyed this week quite a bit, more than last week even.  

Here she is with Mrs. Fox, her art teacher the last two weeks.  The kids have been learning new techniques, and trying new things these past two weeks.  It's been a great experience for Madison, who has spent a lot more time drawing at home this week even after she gets home.  She sets up camp at the kitchen table, and is there drawing different things to the best of her ability.  And she gets better each time.

On our way home from art camp, we stopped at the Farmer's Market, which is something we haven't done yet.  It's on the Gainesville Square, and it was perfectly nice to walk about buying fresh fruit and vegetables.  We got some peaches and some ears of corn, which we cooked later on tonight - it was delicious!

Madison was covered with paint (you can see that in the pictures above), so it was bath time for her, right after we ate some corn - and an early dinner.  We had some shepherd's pie, and then were off in various directions doing work:  Daddy was working on his devotional for a future series, and Mommy was battling the laundry monster.  Madison was drawing, and of course there was the bath too.  We gathered together for a movie tonight - and popcorn, of course.  Tonight's flick was "The Man Who Invented Christmas," which was a really great movie, actually.  It recently was on one of our online movie services, and we really wanted to see it last December, but for some absurd reason, it wasn't in that many theaters.  This movie would have done really well if given proper exposure in theaters, especially at Christmas time.  But alas, it was not.  We would have had to drive down to Atlanta to see it, and we just couldn't get down there in time.  It was open for a week or two, and in places far away, and then it was gone.  So we watched it tonight, and all three of us really loved it, a story about Charles Dickens and his greatest work, and a battle with writer's block.  I know that feeling.  And also the great quote, "We must not disturb the poet when divine frenzy is upon him."

We read tonight a few things.  First, Daddy read Uncanny X-Men #287, which features the beginning of the X-traitor storyline, which went on for years with the X-Men comics.  This was the primary storyline for the comics that Daddy was collecting, and for years we were speculating this or that based on this one comic book.  It took years to resolve this one, actually.  And it's fun watching Madison guess and speculate herself.  No, I'm not going to tell her who the traitor is!

Anyway, we read from "The Hostile Hospital," and from the devotional, and said our prayers.  Madison still hides in clever places each night when we go up to wish her good night.  Tonight she had a decoy in the bathroom, a few stuffed animals with a blanket over them, as if it was her hiding between the tub and the toilet.  Also hidden:  the world's largest whoopee cushion underneath the blankets in her bed.  We have a lot of funny routines, all of them ending with zerberts and "I love you's."

PHHHHHHHHHTTTT!!  

Emperor Palpatine in Wonder

"Ouch."

Isn't it great that Emperor Palpatine makes a cameo appearance in the movie "Wonder"?  We were watching that movie again this morning, and it was all for research this time, as we were putting together our message for Sunday based on the movie "Wonder."  It's a powerful movie, one that really tugs at the heart strings, whatever heart strings are.  It's an emotional movie, one we can't wait to talk about on Sunday.  In fact, below we'll share  rough outline of the message, something I put together earlier today.

In the meantime, Madison was doing art camp again at the Quinlan.  We drop her off at 9:00 am, and she says,"Love you!" and jumps out of the car to embark on another adventure.  Today she was covered with paint when she got out of camp.  She was in the bathtub right away, and we had to clean the tub somewhat afterwards, there was so much paint.  She says she's liking this week's artistic creations better than last week's, and can't wait to show us - that's tomorrow, actually.

When taking a break from art, the kids play games, and today's game was again something called "Exploding Kittens."  We'll have to look into that one, because Madison really likes it.

Tonight we did our usual routine of reading before bed, both from the devotional and from "The Hostile Hospital."  The devotional was talking about the movie "Soul Surfer," which features a shark, and the movie we watched tonight had a shark as well - so I think we got "Shark Week" covered a little.  The devotional, of course, was an inspirational story - we may watch "Soul Surfer" tomorrow night.  As for the movie we watched tonight, we concluded our Lara Croft-athon with "Lara Croft:  Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life."

Here's the Shark Week reference.  You can see the most effective way to reach the surface of the water quickly if you're way down deep.

1.  First, cut your arm so it bleeds into the water, but cover that wound until you're out in an open area underwater.  
2.  This should automatically draw a large shark.  
3.  When it circles around you, confidently wait vertically in place.  
4.  When it comes in to attack with it's mouth open (seen above), simply pound it on the snout.
5.  Grab the shark by the dorsal fin.  At this point, the shark should automatically swim rapidly towards the surface of the water above.
6.  Let go of the shark, and let it swim away from you, leaving you alone.
7.  Swim to the surface of the water, which should be closer to you now.

Obviously, this movie stretched the "believability" factor considerably.  The scene with the helicopter was equally an eye-roller, but on the whole, it wasn't a bad movie.  Okay, modification:  it wasn't a terrible movie.

Of course, the first movie was over-the-top cheesy, but seemed to have more "tomb raider" material.  For example, it had "tombs" and "raiders."  This movie had a tomb at the beginning, the one belonging to Alexander the Great.  And after that, it was more about fighting sequences in exotic locations.  We were glad to see China here, including the Great Wall.  But on the whole, the three of us agreed it was our least favorite of the movies.  At the same time, we're glad we finished the trilogy.  The first two we watched weren't bad at all, and after this weekend, we might find ourselves purchasing another Tomb Raider game - they're only $3.99 right now on sale online.

Okay, I digress.  We're done with Lara, and we're moving on:  Madison did her piano practice, and I'm not saying anything to her out loud here, but one week from today she'll be in middle school.  It's too fast, too soon.  She's ready, like Auggie Pullman, ready to take on the day.  And speaking of which, here below is the rough draft of the "Wonder" message we're planning to do this weekend at KidPak:

“Wonder”

CUE SLIDE:  “Superflix”

HOST:  “Okay, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings here… but here goes.  Sometimes someone has to be the person who shares bad news. And this is awful.  Everyone take a deep breath, because here goes.”

Let audience take a deep breath.

HOST:  “School starts really soon.”

Let audience react.

HOST:  “I know, I know!  It’s horrific!  Summer was going along so wonderfully, and here we are already, ready to go back to… oh, I can’t say it…”

CUE SLIDE:  “SCHOOL!”

HOST: “Okay, fine! School!  But you know something?  As fun as summer is, the school year can be an amazing time too. And today we’re going to be looking at a student through the school year who shows us how to be.  He shows us how to win, how to make friends, and how to do well.  Has anyone here heard of the name Auggie Pullman?  He’s the main character in an incredible book that was made into a movie called ‘Wonder.’”

CUE SLIDE:  “WONDER”

HOST:  “Some of you may not have met Auggie Pullman yet.  So why don’t we take a moment now, and look to the screens to meet this amazing young student.”

CLIP ONE:  Meet Auggie Pullman (0:45 – 2:02.5 [spliced together with] 2:48- 4:29)

CUE SLIDE:  “AUGGIE

HOST:  (carrying around a space helmet) “Auggie Pullman was born with a disorder.  He’s different.  And I’m sure you know someone just like him.  Or… perhaps that someone is you.  That’s what makes this movie so amazing – we learnsomuchfrom Auggie Pullman.”

HOST:  “After meeting a few other students and even the principal, he makes the most courageous decision.  He is going to step out in faith.  He’s ready for take-off, ready to step out into a whole new world:  he’s going …to middle school.

CLIP TWO:  You’re Not Alone (12:12 – 14:14)

CUE SLIDE:  “GOING TO SCHOOL”

HOST:  “I want you to see two things in this clip, the first one I can tell you as a parent is absolutely true.  Did you hear her prayer at the end of that clip?  ‘Dear God, please make them be nice to him.’  The truth is, each one of you have parents that are just as nervous as you are.  We want you to succeed, want you to have friends, want you to do well with your grades, and want you to be all those things that you’re dreaming of being.”

HOST:  “We’re with you every step of the way.  But there’s someone even greater who is with you as you step out.  The dad said it:  he said you’re not alone.  And you aren’t ever alone.  God is with you each moment.  Listen to this scripture here.”

CUE SLIDE:  “JOSHUA 1:9 NIRV”

HOST:  “Be strong and brave. Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. I am the Lord your God. I will be with you everywhere you go.”

CUE SLIDE:  “WONDER TITLE SLIDE”

HOST:  “You’re never alone.  God is with you everywhere you go, and you can have that same courage that Auggie had, stepping out into a whole new world.  Because you’re not alone.  Say it with me, ‘I’m not alone.’”

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “Now filled with courage, Auggie was ready for school. And there was a lot to learn there, of course.  But this lesson we see here in this next clip …is the most important of all.”

CLIP THREE: Choose Kind (Auggie first day in the classroom)

CUE SLIDE:  “CLASSROOM”

HOST:  “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.  That precept is so good, we made that our first point.”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT ONE: CHOOSE KIND”

HOST:  “Choose kind. Each of us is given a choice each day in all we do.  No matter what we’re going through, or no matter who is looking, we have a decision to make.  When given a choice, we need to choose to be kind.  The Bible puts it this way.”

CUE SLIDE:  “MATTHEW 7:12”

HOST:  “In everything, do to others what you would want them to do to you.  It’s the golden rule, isn’t it?”

CUE SLIDE:  “JULIAN”

HOST:  “Unfortunately, you saw someone in that scenenot being kind.  His name is Julian, and in that scene he was actually poking fun of Auggie.  He was saying that Auggie looked just like the Emperor from Star Wars.”

CUE SLIDE:  “EMPEROR PALPATINE”

HOST:  (showing a handful of notes in his hands)  “And Julian did worse in this story, of course.  Each day, he would leave disgusting notes on Auggie’s desk or locker, and bully him about his looks.  Between Julian and Auggie, which one do you think is acting more like the Emperor?”

CUE SLIDE:  “JULIAN”

HOST:  “Julian is, of course.  Because he’s missing out on something completely, and that’s point two.”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT TWO: YOU ARE A WONDER”

HOST:  “You are a wonder.  I say let them stare.  You’re notugly.  Say it with me, ‘I’m not ugly!’”

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “You were made in God’s image, and He loves your face!  You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out, because you are a child of the Living God.  Let me share with you this scripture David wrote in the Bible.” 

CUE SLIDE:  “PSALM 139:14”

HOST:  “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

CUE SLIDE:  “WONDER TITLE SCREEN”

HOST:  “You are a wonder.  That’s how you are made, plain and simple.  Be filled with confidence, because you are simply amazing!  Let’s say it again, repeat after me, ‘I am a wonder!’"

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “It’s true.  And as you get ready to go to school, you have to decide what kind of person you’re going to be.  Are you going to be a Julian?  Or are you going to be something else?  Auggie’s teacher, Mr. Brown started the school year asking this question I’m about to share here, and it’s one you should ask as well.”

CUE SLIDE:  “WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO YOU ASPIRE TO BE?”

HOST:  “What kind of person do you aspire to be?  Here in this next clip, we’ll meet Jack.  He chooses kindness, and you know something?  He’s a character that we should all aspire to be more like.”

CLIP FOUR:  Jack and Auggie at lunch table, through montage

CUE SLIDE:  JACK

HOST:  “Kids like Auggie are looking for kindness.  In other words, they need someone who isn’t just friendly, but isa friend.   To begin with, Jack was being kind just because it was the right thing to do. But soon he discovered that he had made a new best friend.  And thought it took a little time, we found by the end of the school year, Auggie had made a whole lot of new friends, because he really is …a wonder.”

CLIP FIVE:  Auggie’s AwardCUE SLIDE:  AUGGIE

HOST:  “Auggie was given that award because of all the hearts he lifted along the way, all the lives he touched in a positive way.  It all added up to something amazing, a year of wonder.”

CUE SLIDE:  MR. BROWN

HOST:  “We’re going to close with one of Mr. Brown’s other precepts – his lessons for the day. It’s also our third point.  Let’s take a look at it.”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT THREE: YOUR DEEDS ARE YOUR MONUMENTS

HOST:  “Your deeds are your monuments.  Each thing you do each day adds up to something.  (gesturing to Julian’s notes)  For Julian, it added up to a great big pile of trouble.  Each day, he poured out insults, and you can see how it all added up.  And if you watch the movie, you can see how it brought him a whole lot of trouble.”

CUE SLIDE:  WONDER TITLE SCREEN

HOST:  “But for Auggie and Jack and Summer and even Amos, they chose something different for each day.  Jack chose to stand up for Auggie.  Summer chose to leave the others behind to sit with him at lunch.  Amos chose to defend Auggie when there was trouble at camp. Each one had a choice, and even with everyone looking, they chose kindness.”

HOST:  “As the school year begins, it’s a choice you should remind yourself to make each year. Choose kindness, and remember that each thing you do is the thing that matters the most.  Go into the school year with courage and kindness, because you know something? You are.. a wonder.”

HOST:  “Let us pray.”

Christmas in July

It was Christmas in July this morning, which is just a nice thing to do if it is July 25^th. Five months from now, we’ll be waking up to see what Santa brought.  Today, Santa brought a few nice items though, even five months ahead.  Daddy got a replacement mug for Mommy, one with a very hard pattern to track down.  The previous one broke, and so this one was a bit of a task to find a pattern for. Nevertheless, Daddy found it and we were good to go.  It was given to Mommy this morning, wrapped in Christmas paper.

And look what Madison got! She unwrapped her Christmas-in-July gift, and saw she now is the owner of  the world’s largest whoopee cushion!  This will be an item well-used over the next few weeks.  We filled with air this morning, and took it for a test run right away.  

PHHHHHTTT!

It was actually pretty nice to listen to Christmas music, and I’m not really sure why.  We generally don’t start all that until November, but for today, we made an exception.  Also, we saw that the “The Man Who Invented Christmas” is available our movie cue list now.  This is a movie we really wanted to see last November, but the theaters were dumb and didn’t make it available.  I say they’re dumb because I know a Christmas movie would do well … at Christmas.  As is, here we are in July, and it is finally out there to see.  Well, this is Christmas in July, so why not?  We'll probably see it tomorrow.

It was art camp again today, and things are going along very nice there.  Madison is playing "Exploding Kittens," but also making things with paint and patterns.  This is the last camp, and she's been so enthused about each one.  Summer Xtreme is still her favorite, but she's really loving her time at the Quinlan Art Center.  We'll have to get one of these art pieces she's making framed - and get it ready for the exhibition coming up soon.  Mommy and Daddy have to get that going too!

Tonight, we continued our KidPak movies series, doing bits from the movie “Trolls.”  Madison had a great time with all the other kids, and the message was a good one. Chris spoke  - the message turned out well.   And meanwhile, Daddy and Josh were in the main service upstairs to do another skit on stage in front of the world.  It went well, so much so that Dr. Rutland is going to have us do a few more, the next one in two weeks.  We’re having fun, and the folks in the audience are laughing at the skit.  Dr. Rutland wrote the skits, and did a great job, and Josh of course is perfect in his role.  Daddy plays a sort of “every man,” one that’s somewhat lost in some oddball situations.

We all got home a little later tonight, but we still made time to read from our devotional, from “A Series of Unfortunate Events, “ and say our prayers of course.  It was a nice day today, a little warm for Christmas. Just five months to go!

Ordinary Orrery

So we learned a new word today, "orrery."  This is, according to the internet, "a mechanical model of the solar system, or of just the sun, earth, and moon, used to represent their relative positions and motions."

I bring this up because we saw the first "Tomb Raider" movie tonight, which chronologically takes place second.  Madison was excited to see Lara Croft again, and despite the snickers about the quality of a movie based on a video game, it wasn't that bad.  It actually looks like a video game in several instances, with "big boss" characters to battle, simplistic ways of dealing with those characters and more.  You simply aim two guns at everything and use your unlimited ammo to deal with the bad guys.  At the end, there is this steampunk design of a orrery, which is just a weird word, honestly.  But it's a real word, so we're going with it.  I kind of want an orrery now, although not that big of an orrery.  Maybe we can put the orrery in the back yard.

From what I understand, this orrery was destroyed, which is a real shame.  It's a real nice looking orrery.  It's not an ordinary orrery, for sure.

Moving on, today was art camp, and Madison had a great time as always with textures and pastels and paints.  She got messy again, yes.  And she also played more games:  today's games featured some role-playing game involving superheroes, creativity, and dice.  Daddy has tried a few role-playing games in the past with others, meeting in dens and going on lengthy campaigns designed by Dungeon Masters or Game Masters or whatever, and honestly... it's not for me.  I can say I tried it though, but I don't entirely see the appeal of it, even with all the creativity at work in the group.  But I'm not going to take away from it in any way from others:  to each their own.  It just wasn't for me.

Madison had a great time trying it out today, although it wasn't something we knew about ahead of time.  There are plenty of role-playing games out there that are not good, but this one didn't seem to have anything bad about it.  You can't toss all role-playing games out the window because of bad ones that exist, any more than you can throw out entire states of the Union because there are corrupt governments within.

See what I did there?  I transitioned to the elections today, which finished up until November.  Today was the run-off for the primaries.  We did early voting a while back, and I think only one of the people we voted for actually won the primary run-off today.  Which is fine - the differences are always subtle, whereas the general leaning is what is more important.  The candidates seemed largely the same, unlike the general election in November, where the differences are more substantial.

Madison did some speech exercises today, and played piano as well.  But she's also working on her drawings at home, working on a fox drawing with some shading.  She's learning to shade things and she's been quite pleased at the end product.  We're happy to see her progressing so nicely with her artistic skills.  This camp she's at has been inspiring her to create, and we're happy to see that.  How great to sit at the table and draw - Mommy gave her some new pencils, each one a different level of darkness.  Madison is exploring the use of these, seeing which ones work best, and trying things out on paper.  This is much better than sitting around, using a handheld device, for certain.

Speaking of which, school is next week.  Crazy, huh?  We're gearing up for that, getting to bed a little earlier than usual.  Tonight we read from "The Hostile Hospital," chapter three.  The Volunteers Fighting Disease are a funny group of cheerful helpers - Madison still remembers their song from the television series.  We said our prayers tonight, and that was largely it, the end of a pretty big day.

Mommy and Daddy got a lot done at church today, including cleaning up some rooms, putting props away, and setting up for another skit tomorrow night on the main sanctuary stage.  Josh and Daddy will be involved with another skit for Dr. Rutland, which is an honor, and lots of fun too.  We'll start rehearsing tomorrow!

Until then, here's the service script for the movie message about "Trolls" we'll be doing tomorrow night at KidPak.  It's what Madison and the other kids will be seeing, and is shaping up to be a lot of fun!

KidPak Adventures: Superflix

“Trolls”

CUE SLIDE:  “Superflix”

HOST:  “Hair up! I got this feeling inside my bones that you know what movie we’re talking about today.  If there’s a place in movies that’s filled with dancing, joy, crazy hair and scrapbooking – it’s just got to where our friends live in the movie “Trolls.”

CUE SLIDE:  “TROLLS”

HOST:  “Here’s where we meet a bunch of happy characters, always ready for a party.  Can you name some of these characters?”

CUE SLIDE:  “BIGGIE and MR. DINKLES”

HOST:  “Biggie and Mr. Dinkles.”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “Oh, snap!  How about this one?”

CUE SLIDE:  “Cooper”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “That’s right, Cooper.  How about this one?”

CUE SLIDE:  “Guy Diamond”

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “Guy Diamond!  Now who going to be the ruler of all the trolls?”

CUE SLIDE:  “Princess Poppy”

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “That one’s easy.  Princess Poppy is the happy ruler of these happy trolls, never worried about trouble, and never prepared for anything to ever go wrong.  But does something wrong happen to the trolls?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “Yes, you’re right.  It sure does!”

CLIP ONE:  Trouble comes to the troll camp.

CUE SLIDE:  “TROUBLE”

HOST:  “The lives of the trolls are in danger!  And this is the part where Poppy’s dad had some very important words – and our first point!”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT 1:  NO TROLL LEFT BEHIND

HOST: “No troll left behind. Of course, this is important for us to know as well:  God doesn’t want anyone left behind.  Let me show you a scripture that proves it.”

CUE SLIDE:  “2 PETER 3:9”

HOST:  “The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. Instead, he is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.”

CUE SLIDE:  “TROLLS TITLE SCREEN”

HOST:  “God wants everyone in heaven.  He wants everyone saved, and He wants your help.  Yet there are many people out there – some even in the church – that don’t do all that much to help save people who are in danger. Crazy, isn’t it?  I want you to meet a troll who is like that – his name is Branch.  All he has to do is one simple thing to help save his fellow trolls from being eaten. You think he’ll do it?”

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “Let’s find out.”

CLIP TWO:  Branch doesn’t high-five

CUE SLIDE:  BRANCH and CLOUD

HOST:  “Branch wouldn’t even do a high five in order to save those in trouble.  And before we get all judgy, we need to ask this question: what are we doing to help out in the church?  If everyone does our what we can, even the simplest things can help save the world.

CUE SLIDE:  TROLLS TITLE SCREEN

HOST:  “Branch wouldn’t sing.  Branch wouldn’t even do a high five in order to save those in trouble.  And yet what are we doing to help out in the church?  If everyone does our what we can, even the simplest things can help help save the world.  God gave you a gift to help others – stop focusing on yourself, and start focusing on others, and you’ll start acting more like Jesus.  Let me share this one scripture that fits people like Branch perfectly.”

CUE SLIDE:  JAMES 2:16-17 NIRV

HOST:  “Suppose one of you says to them, ‘Go. I hope everything turns out fine for you. Keep warm. Eat well.’ And suppose you do nothing about what they really need. Then what good have you done?  It is the same with faith. If it doesn’t cause us to do something, it’s dead.”

CUE SLIDE:  “BRANCH”

HOST:  “Faith involves doing something.  If we really believe any of this, we have to act.  We have to do something, even if it is something small like giving a smile – or even do a high-five.  Now it’s true that Branch hit some hard times.  But it’s also the truth is that we alldo.  The world may not be all cakes and rainbows, but if we’re going to win, there’s one thing you need to do.  It’s the one thing that all winners do:  get back up again.  Let’s watch someone right now that knows exactly how to do that!

CLIP THREE:  Get Back Up Again.

CUE SLIDE:  “PRINCESS POPPY”

HOST:  “That was so awesome, I think we should make it point two.”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT 2:  Get Back Up Again.”

HOST:  “Get back up again. The world may not be all cakes and rainbows, but with our Heavenly Father, there’s always a bright side. And with our Heavenly Father, there’s always hope.  There’s something wonderful coming, if you don’t give up.  Let me show you this one scripture in Galatians that’s worth putting in your scrapbook:”

CUE SLIDE:  GALATIANS 6:9 NIRV

HOST:  “Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t give up.” 

CUE SLIDE:  “BRANCH AND POPPY”

HOST:  “The problem with Branch is that he was so hurt that he was unable to focus on anything but his own hurting.  But Poppy kept sowing seeds into his life – you could see he kept all the party invitations, even though he never came. Sometimes you can’t see it on the outside, but when we keep on showing love, and never give up, things will change over time and even the toughest troll – or Bergen - will change.  Becausetrue happiness is closer than you think.  You can have it when you invite Jesus into your heart.”

CUE SLDE:  “TROLLS TITLE SCREEN”

HOST:  “The world is a grey and colorless place without Jesus in it. It’s an unhappy place.  You have to get your heart like our Heavenly Father’s – no troll left behind, and if discouragement comes, just get back up again. In other words, we need to show our true colors.”

HOST:  “In the story of “Trolls,” the main characters are captured by hungry Bergens.  How amazing that when all hope is lost, it’s Branch who finally comes through.  All those times that Poppy kept trying to bring happiness to Branch paid off, and just at the right time – as you’ll see right now.”

CLIP FOUR:  True Colors

CUE SLIDE:  “TRUE COLORS”

HOST:  “Show your true colors.  That’s our third and final point.”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT 3:  SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS”

HOST:  “In ‘Trolls,’ it’s amazing how one Troll’s song of hope brought color and life to so many others.  He saved the day!  But so can you, when you share God’s light of love.  It can lead others to Him, and bring color to the world.  Let’s look at one final scripture about sharing that light.”

CUE SLIDE:  “MATTHEW 5:16 NIRV”

HOST:  “In the same way, let your light shine so others can see it. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will bring glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

CUE SLIDE:  “TROLLS TITLE SCREEN”

HOST:  “It doesn’t take much to shine your light.  And that means it doesn’t take much to help save the world.  We’re surrounded by people who are hurting, just like Branch was.  Just keep shining that light, because God doesn’t want anyone left behind.  Get back up again, and help others to do the same thing.  When we do that, we’re letting that light shine so others can see it. Then they will see the good things you do.  And they will bring glory to our Father who is in heaven.”

HOST:  “Let us pray.”